A partial ballot recount in Venezuela has reduced Nicolas Maduro's advantage in the presidential election two weeks ago, the National Electoral Council said on Monday.

With the update of overseas votes and 99.79 percent of the total domestic votes counted, the margin between Maduro and opposition leader Henrique Capriles has been narrowed to 225,000 votes, said the council.

Maduro led with 50.61 percent of the vote, compared with 49.12 percent for Capriles.

Venezuelans living abroad cast a total of 57,992 ballots, of which 93 percent were for Capriles, according to a latest bulletin of the NEC.

The opposition had rejected the audit, saying the move is insufficient and will challenge the results at the Supreme Tribunal of Justice in the coming days.

The NEC rejected a request from the opposition to have access to all the logbooks - records and proof of voting - to dispel doubts about election irregularities.

"It is a fake audit, because it does not take into account the voting logbooks," said Capriles. "It's like someone going to the supermarket, paying and leaving with nothing," he said.

Xinhua-AFP

(China Daily 05/02/2013 page11)